A Saudi royal, who hurried back to Riyadh on Tuesday for the funeral of a beloved cousin, ended up being buried with his relative after a fatal crash on the long road journey from the Red Sea coast, family members said.

Prince Sultan bin Faisal bin Turki al-Saud, aged 41, was in the coastal resort of Jeddah when he was informed of the death on Monday of his cousin Prince Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdel Aziz, aged 43, the family said, according to AFP.

He decided to make the 1,000 kilometer road journey back to the capital to be sure of arriving on time for the service, which in accordance with Muslim tradition was scheduled swiftly after the prince's premature death from a heart attack, but was killed in a crash on the way.

A nephew of Saudi King Fahd and chairman of the board of directors of Saudi Research and Marketing, publishers of the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat, Prince Ahmed had been a close friend of his younger cousin, relatives added. (Albawaba.com)